Fire erupts at Sandy-ravaged home in Staten Island's New Dorp Beach

Looking at his home, Eddie Saman said, "I have nowhere else to go. Now it's all gone."Staten Island Advance/Bill Lyons

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- All Eddie Saman wanted was to stay warm, but instead he accidentally started a fire that injured his neighbor.

Still without power or heat, Saman turned on the stove to warm up his one-story home at 47 Center Pl., off Cedar Grove Avenue -- just one of many homes left in shambles after Hurricane Sandy devastated New Dorp Beach.

But the stove erupted into flames when he was in the other room getting ready for bed around 10 p.m. Sunday.

"How else am I supposed to keep warm in there? It's freezing and we have no power," Saman said outside his burned-out home, as firefighters wrapped up their hoses after extinguishing the blaze.

When the fire started, Saman escaped out the side of the house. But his neighbor from across the street -- whom Saman called Anthony -- ran into the house thinking he was still trapped inside.

"He's a great guy, and he tried to save me," Saman said. "He saved about six people during the Hurricane."

Saman and several other witnesses said that Anthony suffered burns to the face. A spokesman for the FDNY said that the injured person was taken to Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze. The extent of the injuries were unclear.

Dressed in a winter coat and with a back pack strapped on, Saman said he planned on spending the night at a shelter.

"I have nowhere else to go. Now it's all gone," he said looking at his home.

FEMA APPROVES $70M FOR ISLAND

More than $664 million in federal aid has been approved for New York's victims of Hurricane Sandy by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA said Sunday that more than 230,000 New Yorkers have requested assistance since the storm hit.

The hardest hit areas of the state include Staten Island, which has received $70 million and Nassau County, which has received about $224 million.

Queens County, which includes the hard-hit Rockaways, has received $170 million. Officials have conducted more than 131,000 home inspections.

FEMA says workers are going door-to-door explaining the types of disaster assistance available and how to register.